The present invention relates to agricultural implements and, in particular, the present invention relates to forage wrapping devices, such as bale wrappers, and methods of preserving forage.
For many years it was a typical agricultural process to cut forage, allow some drying to occur, rake it into windrows for further drying, then collect and store the forage at a desirable moisture content. Handling and storage of the cut forage was simplified by baling. Over roughly the past generation, a shift has occurred in the sizing of the bales. Earlier bales could be lifted and carried by an individual. More modern bales are massive units(from several hundred to a thousand pounds) of tightly bound and compressed forage. Accompanying this shift has been a shift in storage, from piles of smaller bales, often stored indoors or covered outdoors to outdoor storage of individual large bales or rows of large bales. More recently, the large bales have been covered in plastic sheeting to protect them from rain and snow and reduce their exposure to oxygen. One approach is to use a large plastic bag to surround the large bale. Another is to use overlapping helical wraps of plastic sheeting. Noteworthy examples are the disclosures of Anderson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,124 and Reeves in U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,864.
The present invention provides an ingenious solution to wrapping a single large bale or more preferably a series of large bales. These bales are wrapped faster and more efficiently than the prior art wrapping devices allow. Other aspects of the present invention provide for versatility and fine adjustments in wrapping operations while improving the safety of operators.
The present invention involves a clever arrangement for wrapping large hay bales individually. More preferably a series of large bales may be advantageously wrapped. The present invention is an agricultural film wrapping apparatus or device. The wrapper includes a frame, with a leading end, a trailing end and a central portion. The frame is born on leading and trailing pairs of wheels. The leading pair of wheels is pivotally steerable. A telescoped transport pole is connected to the steering mechanism. The transport pole may be retracted for coupling to a manual steering mechanism. The device includes a hydraulic push bar, with an extension mechanism for single or final bales. The pushbar includes an extension mechanism for a single bale or for a final bale of a series. The hydraulic pushbar interacts with detector switches. These detector switches may be adjustably located adjacent its stroke. These detector switches function to initiate or stop action of the pushbar and the wrapping hoop. The device includes safety and efficiency enhancing features. The bale wrapper may be operated manually or in automatic mode. Remote controls are optionally present. Wheel-applied brakes and brake fail-safe functions are provided to prevent towing while the brake is engaged.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a bale wrapper. The bale wrapper includes a frame, a bale-loading deck, a central portion with a single hoop assembly, and a power source. The frame includes a leading end with steerable wheels and a transport pole connected to the steerable wheels. The frame also has a trailing end with braked wheels. A central portion is also present between the leading end and the trailing end. The bale-loading deck is located adjacent the leading end. The bale-loading deck includes a pair of spaced-apart guide rails, a pair of tubular supports located generally between the spaced-apart guide rails, the tubular supports are rotatably mounted to the frame by paired riser legs. This structure defines a standard path in first position and defines an elevated path in a second position. A hydraulically powered pushbar for translating a bale on either the standard path or the elevated path toward the trailing end is also present. A hoop assembly has two opposed rolls of plastic film and is carried and supported by and between a first idler assembly mounted on one side of the frame and a second idler assembly mounted on the opposite side of the frame. The hoop assembly has an inner edge and a powered rubber wheel bearing against the inner edge. The wrapper also includes an engine which provides a means to simultaneously power the hydraulic pushbar and rotate powered rubber wheel to rotate the hoop such that film is dispensed from the opposed rolls and wrapped about a bale being translated by the pushbar through the hoop. The bale wrapper preferably has a transport pole which is telescopic between an extended towing position and a retracted manual steering position, as well as a screw crank. The screw crank is mounted transversely on the frame adjacent the leading edge and is attachable to the transport pole to laterally pivot the transport pole such that an operator may steer the bale wrapper whilst the operator avoids occupancy in the wheel path being steered. The bale wrapper also preferably has three frame mounted switches to detect respectively, a forward travel limit position of the pushbar, a hoop assembly rotation initiation position of the pushbar, and a rearmost travel limit position of the pushbar.